Posted on 03/23/2003 10:14:52 PM PST by kattracks
Suspect in 101st attack opposed to war in Iraq - Said his Muslim faith would get him in trouble
Even more alarming is something that I heard over the weekend. The US military has Muslim Chaplains! The expert I heard said that at least some of them are of the Wahabbi sect.
I found this on the US military page: There now are 12 male military Muslim chaplains — seven in the Army, three in the Navy and two in the Air Force.
What's a mama's boy like him doing in the military in the first place?
Taken literally, she's right. He tried to take the life of at least 15 American soldiers, not "nobody".
Maybe she's a master of Clintonian doublespeak.
For many here at FR, that alone is reason enough to execute him, even without the murder and attempted murder he will be charged with.
Oh, and yeah, the Crusaders here at FR wouldn't bother with the court-martial.
Personally, I view any crime as something other than "love", but I feel the term "hate crime" to be redundant, politically correct bullsh!t. That's why I didn't use it.
The guy, if guilty, is either a murderer or a traitorous murderer, depending on motive. In either case, don't soil the rope, just find a solid wall and stand him against it....costs maybe two bucks worth of ammo, ropes are expensive, and probably would not be re-used.
Personally, I view any crime as something other than "love", but I feel the term "hate crime" to be redundant, politically correct bullsh!t. That's why I didn't use it.
The guy, if guilty, is either a murderer or a traitorous murderer, depending on motive. In either case, don't soil the rope, just find a solid wall and stand him against it....costs maybe two bucks worth of ammo, ropes are expensive, and probably would not be re-used.
A lovely and appropriate thought, but since 1984, the means of military execution of the dewth penalts has been specified as lethal injection, per an executive order signed by then-president Reagan. Specifics regarding the current process and procedures for seeking and carrying out capital punishment under the UCMJ are as follows:
(Source: National Law Journal, 4/5/99)Date of last military execution: On April 13, 1961, U.S. Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.
(R. Serrano, "Last Soldier to Die at Levenworth Hanged in an April Storm," Los Angeles Times, 7/12/94).
Number of DR inmates: 7
Minimum Age to Receive the Death Penalty: 18 years
Death Row Location: U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Method of Execution: Lethal Injection
Date the Death Penalty Was Reenacted after Furman
In 1983, the Armed Forces Court of Appeals held in U.S. v. Matthews, 16 M.J. 354, that military capital sentencing procedures were unconstitutional for failing to require a finding of individualized aggravating circumstances. In 1984, the death penalty was reinstated when President Ronald Reagan signed an executive order adopting detailed rules for capital courts-martial. Among the rules was a list of 11 aggravating factors that qualify defendants for death sentences.
Life Without Parole
A recent amendment to the Uniform Code of Military Justice offers a new alternative to the death penalty. For crimes that occurred on or after November 17, 1997, a sentence of life without the possibility of parole is now possible. Prior to this legislation, those servicemembers serving a life sentence would be eligible for parole after serving 10 years.
Clemency Process
The President has the power to commute a death sentence and no servicemember can be executed unless the President personally confirms the death penalty.
Capital Offenses
The Uniform Code of Military Justice provides the death penalty as a possible punishment for 15 offenses, many of which must occur during a time of war. All 8 men on the military's death row were convicted of premeditated murder or felony murder.
Who Decides Sentence
In a military capital case, the convening authority -- a high ranking commanding officer who decides to bring the case to a court martial -- decides if the death penalty will be sought. Once decided, the convening authority picks those servicemembers who will serve as panel members/jurors.
One requirement for the panel is that if the accused so chooses, at least 1/3 of the panel must consist of enlisted personnel.
The only other requirement of a panel is that it consist of at least five members. Therefore, the number of panelists in a military death penalty case can vary from case to case. Although no state provides for a panel of less than 12 jurors in a capital case, military appellate courts have rejected challenges to capital court-martialed panels with fewer than 12 members.
Overview
Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 15 offenses can be punishable by death, though many of these crimes -- such as desertion or disobeying a superior commissioned officer's orders -- carry the death penalty only in time of war.
The "convening authority" -- a high-ranking commanding officer who decides to bring the case to trial -- chooses whether the government will seek a death sentence. If the case is referred capitally, the defendant cannot choose a bench [judge only] trial; rather, the case must be tried before a panel of at least five military members. The Uniform Code of Military Justice also precludes the defendant in a capital case from pleading guilty. Thus, every military death penalty case is resolved by trial before a panel of servicemembers.
A death penalty will be imposed only if the panel members reach unanimous agreement on four separate points. First, a military defendant cannot be sentenced to death absent a unanimous conviction of a death-eligible offense.... If the panel returns a unanimous conviction, the case then enters the sentencing phase.... The case's outcome will depend upon the [panel] members' resolution of three issues. First, they must determine whether the government has proven a specified aggravating factor beyond a reasonable doubt.... Most of these aggravating factors -- such as killing more than one person or being the triggerman in a felony murder -- are similar to those found in civilian capital punishment schemes. Other factors -- such as committing an offense with the intent to avoid hazardous duty or knowingly endangering a mission -- are unique to the military.
The panel must then weigh all of the aggravating evidence in the case against any evidence in extenuation and mitigation. A death penalty may not be imposed unless the members unanimously conclude that the aggravating circumstances substantially outweigh the mitigating circumstances. Finally, even if every member agrees upon the existence of an aggravating factor and concludes that the evidence in aggravation outweighs the extenuating and mitigating evidence, any member is still free to choose a sentence other than death. Thus, members must unanimously conclude that death is an appropriate sentence.
When a death sentence is imposed, the record is initially reviewed by the convening authority, who has the power to reduce sentences and to set aside guilty findings.... The convening authority can reduce the sentence, but cannot increase it. And this review is no mere rubberstamp. Several years ago, a Marine Corps general commuted an adjudged death sentence to imprisonment for life. If the convening authority approves the death sentence, the condemned servicemember will be moved to military death row. The record of trial then goes before one of the military justice system's four intermediate appellate courts: the Army, Navy-Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals.... If the Court of Criminal Appeals affirms a death sentence, the case then goes before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, as the Court of Military Appeals was renamed in 1994. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is a five-member Article 1 court that sits atop the military justice system. Its judges are civilians appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate to serve 15-year terms.
If the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces affirms the sentence], the case is eligible for Supreme Court review. The Supreme Court's certiorari jurisdiction over military justice cases... was enacted in 1983.... When the Supreme Court affirms [the sentence] or denies certiorari in a military capital case, the death sentence is then reviewed by the executive branch. If the President approves the death sentence, the condemned servicemember can seek habeas relief from the Article III judiciary. If the habeas petition is ultimately denied, the condemned servicemember will be led from death row down a flight of stairs to the USDB's death chamber. There he will be strapped to a gurney and executed by lethal injection.
Racial Disparity
There is racial disparity on the military's death row. Of those on the military death row today, five are African-American, one is a Pacific Islander, and only one is Caucasian. Whereas nationwide, about half of the 3,600 death row inmates are members of a minority, the military has an 86 percent minority death row population.
According to Dwight Sullivan (see above), "While the number of servicemembers under death sentence is fairly small, the racial disparity in military death penalty cases has been distressingly persistent. During World War II, African-Americans accounted for less than 10 percent of the Army. Yet, of the 70 soldiers executed in Europe during the war, 55 [79%] were African-American. After President Truman ordered an end to the armed forces' segregation in 1948, this racial disparity actually increased. The military carried out 12 executions from 1954 until the most recent one in 1961. Eleven of the 12 executed servicemembers were African-American."
"The death sentences adjudged since 1961 have continued to fall disproportionately on minority servicemembers. In 1983, when the Court of Military Appeals issued its Matthews opinion invalidating the military death penalty, seven servicemembers were on death row. Five were African-American, one was Latino, and one was Caucasian."
In addition to the racial disparity among death row inmates, there is also racial disparity among victims. Each time an African American has been sent to the military's death row, the case has involved a white victim.
Number of Executions: 135 people have been executed by the Army since 1916.
-archy-/-
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